Putting the public finances on a sustainable path is vital to securing a strong and stable economy, and the government will ensure it is delivering value for money while maintaining its commitments on public spending in this Parliament.

The review, which was announced at Budget 2016, will generate £3.5 billion of savings in 2019 to 20, with up to £1 billion to be reinvested in priority areas.

Government departments have today been commissioned to begin drawing up proposals for contributions by modelling scenarios of 3% and 6% savings.

This is part of an ongoing commitment to modern, flexible public services that deliver the best value for money for taxpayers.

The NHS and core schools budgets are protected and do not come under the scope of the review. The government also recognises the important role that social care spending plays and so efficiencies found within local government will be used to help meet existing pressures.

The government will also maintain its commitment to meet the NATO target of spending 2% of GDP on defence and for the defence budget to rise by 0.5% above inflation each year of this Parliament.

An update will be provided in autumn 2017.

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke and Ben Gummer, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, have commissioned the work and it will be aligned with a refresh of Single Departmental Plans, so that departments can consider savings options in the context of their business planning.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke, said:

We are committed to a modern, high-quality public sector that delivers the services people need in the most efficient way possible. There has been considerable progress, but there is further to go and the whole of government is working together to consider how we can live within our means while delivering maximum value for every pound of taxpayers money.

The webinar provided information about the £6 million Innovation Fund competition, for those who couldn’t make it to the main networking event on 23 February 2017.

The competition is seeking new technologies, processes and ways of working to improve the way we analyse and exploit data. With the relationship between human and information at the centre of war-fighting we need Defence leaders to have access to the right information on critical issues to enable decision making that outpaces our adversaries.

Phase 1 proposals are now invited and must be received by no later than 12 noon on 21 March 2017.

At the event in London, a series of presentations provided details of three challenges that make up the Defence and Security Accelerator competition ‘Revolutionise the human information relationship for Defence’.

To set the scene, Accelerator Acting Head Rob Solly and Innovation Partner Jim Pennycook opened the event, giving an overview of proof-of-concept research funding opportunities for innovative science and technology providers.

Rear Admiral Tim Fraser and military staff from Joint Force Command outlined the importance of this competition for defence.

Challenge 1

Challenge 1: allowing rapid and automated integration of new sensors was introduced, with details provided from a military and technical perspective.

Challenge 2

Challenge 2: free up personnel by the innovative use of machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) for military advantage was explained from a military and technical challenge perspective.

Challenge 3

Challenge 3: make effective use of operator cognitive capacity, particularly by human-machine teaming was outlined, again with details from a technical and military view.

The competition was then summed up by Joint Force Command and the competition process was explained.

Other opportunities

UK Defence Solutions Centre then talked about export opportunities and Dual Use Technology Exploitation gave an overview of opportunities through non-defence markets.

How to work with the Accelerator

The Accelerator team then outlined how organisations can access the Accelerator and gave advice on how to submit good proposals for funding.

Unmanned Warrior

A briefing on the Unmanned Warrior was then given.

The Vice President of India, Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said that we need to move towards implementing a framework

Union Minister of Food Processing today had a luncheon meeting with Ambassadors and High Commissioners of leading food processing and food retailing countries to share with them the investment opportunities available in India in the food processing sector.